Has any place tried reinvesting criminal justice funds to keep women out of prison?

In 2011 the Centre for Welfare Reform published Local Justice, a proposal by Clare Hyde, that if prison budgets could be devolved then local areas might be able to do something radically different to keep women and children out of prison or out of contact with the whole criminal justice system – Justice Reinvestment.

In the last decade the numbers of women in custody in the UK has remained at approximately 5% of the total prison population and that population has continued to grow. There is a strong call to close the majority of women’s prisons. 

Could Justice Reinvestment offer an opportunity to do this in a planned and fully resourced way?

In particular Clare Hyde would like to find out whether there are any areas who are either using Justice Reinvestment now or who are hoping to do so in the future.

To find out more about Justice Reinvestment you can read Clare’s paper describing the idea: Local Justice.

Clare Hyde and Simon Duffy also wrote the book Women at the Centre which is available now as a free pdf. It describes one very successful strategy for local investment to keep women away from the criminal justice system.

If you have information you can share with Clare Hyde and the Foundation for Families please email her here.